Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Caravan was being towed at 70mph before fatal crash
Braking system was not adjusted properly
A young family who were flung from their car when the father lost control of the caravan he was towing were not wearing seatbelts, an inquest heard.
The accident led to 29-year-old Patrick Nolan suffering catastrophic head injuries from which he died, while his 21-yearold wife, Barbara, and two yearold son David were critically hurt.
The crash happened when the caravan travelling on the coastbound carriageway on the A2 near Canterbury began to weave, which quickly caused it to flip before Mr Nolan’s Mitsubishi pick-up rolled over.
Serious collision investigators from Kent Police determined the 7.6 metre Hobby caravan was also being towed at almost 70mph – nearly 10mph above the legal limit – and was probably too heavy for the towing vehicle, which could have added to the loss of control.
The family had been staying at a caravan site near Faversham and had just set off for Dover on the afternoon of September 15 last year to travel around Europe when the accident happened near the BP service station.
Mrs Nolan suffered multiple fractures, and her baby boy was left with serious head injuries because his child seat had not been secured and he wasn’t strapped in.
At an inquest on Tuesday into Mr Nolan’s death, a couple told the hearing how they were overtaken by his Mitsubishi L200 and saw the tragedy unfold.
Retired Peter and Eileen Clarke had been driving from Faversham to Canterbury, and told assistant coroner James Dillon they took particular interest in the Nolans’ vehicle because they were keen caravanners.
Mrs Clarke said: “It pulled out and started to overtake us.
“I have never seen a car and caravan being driven so fast.
“It started to snake and I said to Peter, ‘he’s not going to make it’ because he was still going at break-neck speed.”
Mr Clarke told the coroner that he had 30 years’ experience of towing caravans and it was unusual to see a twin axle being towed so fast.
He estimated his own speed to be between 55mph and 60mph when the pick-up and caravan overtook him.
“I said to Eileen, ‘he’s tanking it, why so fast?” In my experience he was pushing it.”
Mr Clarke said he saw the caravan start to weave from side to side before it hit the central reservation and the vehicles rolled over.
Other drivers rushed to the aid of the casualties lying in the road but Mr Nolan had not survived.
A post mortem revealed he had died from a fractured skull, but the pathologist also found he had cocaine in his blood, which he said could have “potentially influenced his judgement when driving”.
The investigation involved examining both the pick-up and the caravan, and while no defects were found in the Mitsubishi, there was a problem with the caravan.
A specialist engineer discovered that its over-braking system – designed to stop the caravan travelling faster than the towing vehicle – was not adjusted properly and ineffective, which may have contributed to the crash.
Senior crash investigator PC Simon Masterson, who led the inquiry, said the speed of the pick-up and caravan, at almost 70mph, had also been determined by evidence from a CCTV camera in a bus, which recorded it progress in the outside lane.
He believed the cause of the collision was a combination of factors, including the speed of the coupling and the weighting of the caravan.
But he also noted the ineffective over-braking system could have been a contributory factor.
He also referred to Mr Nolan’s recent use of cocaine but could not comment on how that would have affected his driving.
He added: “Had Mr Nolan been wearing a seatbelt, it is unlikely he would have been thrown from vehicle and it could have been survivable.”
Recording that Mr Nolan had died as a result of a road traffic collision, assistant coroner Mr Dillon said the vehicle and caravan had been travelling at excessive speed for the safe towing of the caravan.
He added: “It is very relevant that no one was wearing safety belts at the time, and sadly the consequence of that was that all three were ejected as the Mitsubishi was rolling.”
‘I have never seen a car and caravan being driven so fast’